A Lesson in Egg Shaking…

In addition to the butterfly exhibit and general hanging out, Alan and I accompanied Mandy and the kids to an event, just before Easter, at the local mall.  Each month the mall has some little activity for the kids and this event was all about Easter.  Apparently, Paisley hadn’t been all that excited about going, but when she learned that the Easter Bunny was going to be there, she decided it might be pretty fun after all!

I have to say, this thing wasn’t some cheap little thing…it was quite nice, especially for a “freebie”.  There were little baskets with a stuffed animal for each of the kids, and one of the activities was decorating a little planter with a face, after which each of the kids received their own plant.

Paisley did pretty well with that…and then came the activities.

A really sweet young woman in a striped shirt did all that she could to make sure the kids had a good time.  She sang, she danced, and she led the kids through a whole string of “follow-me” activities (whatever they pay her an hour, it isn’t enough!).  Paisley needed a little nudge to get out there, but she finally did go and gave it her best shot:

The Lady in the Striped Shirt passed out Easter eggs filled with rice (taped shut, of course) and led the kids in shaking their eggs to music.  She was even nice enough to give one to Boyfriend!  Paisley shook her egg for a small bit.  However, after a while, she came back to sit with us.  No amount of nudging or coaxing would get her to go back out and play with the other kids.

We couldn’t figure out what the problem was.  Was she scared?  Was she shy?  No…as it turned out, the problem was that all she could focus on was seeing the Easter Bunny.   All of that dancing and singing and egg shaking wasn’t what she came for…where was the Easter Bunny?

Finally, it was time for the Easter bunny!  Hooray!  Paisley’s face lit up with anticipation…and then promptly fell.  It seems that it was not the Easter Bunny who was visiting (he was still busy in the workshop, I guess); instead, it was Mrs. Easter Bunny, and Paisley could tell the difference, and Paisley didn’t really like the difference.  All of that wanting, and all of that waiting, and when it finally came…it was a total letdown.  Paisley didn’t even want to go see that bunny, but we talked her into it.  Her enthusiasm is evident:

Do you want to know who actually did have fun?  In fact, the most fun of anyone there?  That would be Fox:

That kid had the greatest time!  He smiled, he giggled, he flat-out laughed out loud!  And snuggled and cuddled and cooed with Uncle-Vinnie-Who’s-Never-Even-Changed-A-Diaper-Nor-Made-A-Bottle (yuck!).  Oh, and Fox shook his egg….and shook his egg…and shook his egg.  He didn’t care about the Easter Bunny, nor Easter baskets, nor any of that.  He was just having fun in the moment...shaking his egg.

Mandy and I were having one of our daily phone chats and discovered we had both been thinking the same thing:   How many times do we miss out on all kinds of fun because we are so fixated on the Easter Bunny coming?  How many simple joys of today are we missing because we are waiting for some future event?  In my desire to move to the mountains and pines, am I missing the forest for the trees?  And even when my Easter Bunny comes, if it’s not exactly what I’m expecting, will I be crushed?  What would happen if I quit fixating on the bunny and just followed the girl in the striped shirt and shook my egg?  A little something to think about…